Thursday, 28 January 2016

A Sad
Departure – Commendation and Response

Having received my copy of David
Randall’s “A Sad Response” just before the start of Presbytery I managed to
resist the temptation to read it during the more mundane sections of business. When I reached home, however, I read it in one
sitting, something I rarely do.

I thoroughly commend this able
study of the spiritual malaise, indeed apostasy, in the Church of
Scotland. David deals with the current
crisis as he goes through the recent history of G.A. decisions and the parallel
history of evangelical responses. He explores the options of leaving or staying, the arguments presented by both sides, and the future options for those who
leave. Above all he shows the importance
of the doctrine of Scripture in terms of its inspiration and authority and how
this has been undermined in the denomination.

No book is perfect, and as iron
sharpens iron, it invites a response in certain respects.

“What’s past is prologue” (Shakespeare). The past shapes and moulds the present and
the current crisis can perhaps be more fully understood by going back slightly
further than David does. He focuses on
the last 10 years, but the battle on this issue began at least 20 years ago. The exodus of today was preceded by a
comparable trickle of men (not congregations) leaving to serve in the PCA, the
OPC, the EPCEW, and other evangelical presbyterian bodies.

David hints at this when seeking
to show that he was not a rabid separatist in the past:

“I recall
a case of a congregation (Gardenstown) many years ago that was being urged to
secede from the Church of Scotland because the denominatiom was alleged to be
moving in the direction of approval of homosexual practice. I, along with Rev
James Philip spoke at a congregational meeting, urging members to resist
secession and remain with the denomination.”

The year was 1995, and I was the
minister of the congregation. I had
served the denomination for 18 years, the last 9 being in Gardenstown. David and I served in adjoining parishes and
he had been interim moderator at the time of my calling to the congregation.

The event he describes invites
further exploration in order to explain why I urged the congregation to leave
the denomination. David suggests it was
principally because of the supposed drift towards supporting homosexuality. In actual fact the situation was somewhat
more complex. The issues of support for
homosexuality and the enforcement of women’s ordination were, I believed,
symptomatic of a deeper issue – the rejection of the authority of Scripture.
(David himself recognises this to be the case in the current situation, as he
narrates in his book.) My call to secede was based not on the symptoms but on
the underlying cause – the denomination’s growing rejection of the authority of
Scripture.

I no longer have access to my
original papers, but let me try to recall and explain the background. The denomination had decided to allow the
ordination of women as elders (1966) and as ministers (1968). The verbatim record of these assemblies show
that this was declared to be merely permissive legislation and evangelicals
were assured it would never be forced on congregations or ministers. However, some 25 years later the denomination,
unhappy with the obstructionism of some evangelical churches which still did not
have women elders, sought to clarify its position. Despite previous promises it was proposed
that it be declared that the legislation was not permissive and, in very strong
language, that those who actively opposed the ordination of women, who taught
and preached that this was not biblical and who sought to influence
congregations were “in violation of their ordination vows.”

At the Stillite gathering before the
G.A., (usually referred to as the Crieff Fellowship), we debated this proposed
change. Rev David Young and I were
planning to introduce a counter-motion and looked for support from the professed
evangelicals. However, the Stillites had
already caved on the issue of women’s ordination; the unstated policy was, when
necessary, compromise for the sake of peace and to remain in the denomination.

Three memories of that discussion
vividly remain with me.

One of the Stillite leaders who
opposed any organised resistance to the proposed changes spoke. I still remember verbatim his words: “I know
what the Bible says about ordaining unconverted elders. I have done it in the past. I would do it again if necessary!” His point
was that if ordaining women was necessary to continue in a congregation and
have the opportunity to preach the Gospel, he would do it.

I was shocked. My wife, who was
present, was more than shocked; she was in tears. A man whom we greatly respected and from whose
ministry we had been greatly blessed was telling us to disobey Scripture. This was illustrative of the Stillite policy
of “quiet infiltration” – don’t rock the boat, compromise in order to
continue. Essentially they were
pietistic congregationalists who had a defective doctrine of the wider church
and the biblical basis of Presbyterianism.

I clearly remember the points I
made.

On this issue, and others, if we
were ready to disobey the clear teaching of Scripture, our people would respond
by feeling that they were also free to disobey Scripture.

Secondly, the same hermeneutic
used to justify women’s ordination would be, and in actual fact was being used
to justify homosexuality. By bowing to
this false hermeneutic we would ultimately lose the right to oppose its wider
application in terms of homosexuality.

The support of the conference
was, at best, lukewarm. The leadership certainly opposed our activism. The result was that we lost at G.A., although
a good number of the Stillites not only voted with us, but formally registered
their dissent at the Assembly’s decision.

It was the following year that
the G.A. was presented with two reports that suggested the practice and
promotion of homosexuality was an open issue and that we can agree to
differ. (The actual original draft
reports of the Board of Social Responsibility and of the Panel on Doctrine had been even more objectionable, but even after
the in-committee changes, pushed by evangelicals, the fault lines still were
clear.)

After the 1995 G.A. I found
myself in this position. As an
evangelical who actively opposed women’s ordination I was deemed to be in
violation of ordination vows and therefore could be subject to discipline. In contrast, those who were promoting and
encouraging homosexual practices were free to do so and could not be
disciplined. I could be disciplined for
defending Scripture; they could not be disciplined for denying Scripture.

It was in response to this that I
went back to Scripture to ask the question, “What does the Bible teach about
those who embrace and support false doctrine and immoral behaviour?" This
renewed study of Scripture was distilled in the booklet, “Biblical Separation”,
currently being republished on this blog as “Why I left the Church of Scotland.”
In this booklet there is no exegetical discussion of either women’s ordination
or homosexuality, although there was an appendix reproducing a pro-homosexual
article by the Professor of Christian Ethics in Edinburgh to show what was
being tolerated and taught to our students.

My evangelical opponents never
responded to my presentation. (The “stayers”
still do not respond to this.) James Philip preached in Gardenstown the week
after my demission; he made no attempt to speak to me or answer my biblical
case. I had become an untouchable and persona non grata. One evangelical in Presbytery did write to me, quoting Titus 3:10, “As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him
once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him”, suggesting that this
applied to me. After 18 years of service
I was treated as unworthy of serious consideration, a fundamentalist radical who would not be
missed.

Well, my prediction was
true. The Church of Scotland continued
in its course of tolerating the promotion of homosexuality and ultimately
embraced the toleration of active homosexual behaviour in its members and
ministers. Gardenstown eventually left
the Church of Scotland in 2015.

In 1995 David and I stood opposed;
in 2015 we stand shoulder to shoulder. I
rejoice in that unity in the truth. Indeed, the very fact that a man of such integrity
and previous loyalty to the denomination should leave shows the depth of the “sad departure” from Scripture in
the Church of Scotalnd.

I highly recommend this book. Buy it, read it, share it with those elders
and ministers who think they can stay in and support an apostate denomination.
Sadly, some will not read it. Some will read it but refuse to answer it, preferring instead to feed their congregations a diet of
selective Scripture , misread history and pietistic double talk. My hope is
that some will prayerfully read it and be convinced by it.

I end with a suggestion for David’s
next book, “ A Happy Reunion – the Case for Evangelical Biblical Unity.”

Tuesday, 26 January 2016

In 1995 I produced a
small booklet on biblical separation. This is the eighth extract from that
booklet:

2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14

6 Now we command you,
brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any
brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that
you received from us… 14 If anyone does not
obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to
do with him, that he may be ashamed.

The general principle of separation from those who do not receive and
obey apostolic instruction is here applied to a specific case, the willfully idle
or the disorderly. We are to identify
such individuals and dissociate from them. Paul says keep away from them, and
have nothing to do with them.

Is this compatible with denominational recognition of those who disobey
and disregard apostolic teaching and acceptance of and fellowship with those
who reject apostolic instruction and doctrine?

1 Timothy 1;3

As I urged you when I
was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain
persons not to teach any different doctrine.

False teachers are not to be tolerated; they are to be commanded not to
teach false doctrine. If they do not
repent accordingly then appropriate action is to be taken against them. When the church, instead of silencing false
teachers, promotes them, fetes them, and recognises the legitimacy of their
right to express and teach their unbiblical viewpoint, it clearly disobeys this
command. When the church is no longer willing to differentiate between true and
false doctrine and does not exercise biblical discipline against such men then it
is no longer possible for true Christians to obey this portion of
Scripture. Unrestricted loyalty to the
denomination has led to a selective disobedience of Scripture.

1 Timothy 6:3, 4

If anyone teaches a
different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus
Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, 4 he is puffed up with
conceit and understands nothing.

The willful rejection of sound (spiritually healthy) instruction, and the promotion of false,
therefore spiritually destructive doctrine, is a sign of spiritual ignorance and
conceit. Do we imagine that Paul would endorse the church recognising and
accepting such destructive false teachers or encouraging a denominational
fellowship with them?

2 Timothy 3:1-5

But understand this,that
in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be
lovers of self, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the
appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

Biblically speaking the last days began with the coming of Christ and
will be consummated at his second coming.
The church is therefore currently living in the last days; they are the
present reality. Timothy is warned that in this age some will adopt a façade of
religion, a mere form of godliness, but will not be true lovers of God and the
good. Timothy is clearly instructed to have nothing to do with such individuals. They are subjects for evangelism in need of
the Gospel, not partners in fellowship.
Denominational fellowship with such individuals is clear disobedience to
the apostle’s command that we avoid them.

Titus 1:9-16

9 An overseer must hold
firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give
instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

10 For there are many
who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the
circumcision party. 11 They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole
families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. 13… rebuke
them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not devoting themselves
to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. 15 To
the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is
pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. 16 They profess
to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable,
disobedient, unfit for any good work.

This is perhaps one of the most intense and sustained New Testament
attacks on false teachers. Two things
are to be done with such individuals.
Firstly, they are to be “silenced”. Like a dangerous dog, they need to
be muzzled. To silence them is to
deprive them of the opportunity to spread their deceitful and destructive
heresies. The godly intolerance taught in Scripture refuses to allow such
individuals the right to spread their error.
Secondly, they are to be “rebuked”, not mildly but “sharply”. They are to be subject to discipline in the
hope that they might renounce their errors and come to a sound faith.

When a church refuses to rebuke, even mildly, those who teach error in
belief and behaviour, when instead of silencing them it places them in pulpits,
professorships, and public office, then it no longer can command the allegiance
of those who seek to obey Scripture.
When evangelicals will denounce, in the safety of their own pulpit, the
errors of false teachers, but at a denominational level will not demand their
silencing and discipline, then they share in some measure the responsibility
for the damage in which such heresy results. If Scripture teaches that heretics
are to be strongly rebuked and silenced then nothing less is acceptable.

Titus 3:10

As for a person who
stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to
do with him.

False teaching is a cause of division.
Those who engage in it are to be disciplined. If they refuse to acknowledge that discipline
and amend their ways then we are to have nothing to do with them. When, within
a denomination, it becomes impossible to formally warn and discipline a divisive false teacher, when the
admonitions of evangelical presbyters are openly mocked and ridiculed, then we
must have nothing further to do with such false teachers and overseers. How is this compatible with denominational
recognition of and fellowship with such an office-bearer?

Wednesday, 20 January 2016

responsive Readings of the Law

For those who wish to use responsive readings of the
Law before the prayer of confession, those readings will prove useful. I believe they may have originally come from
the Christian Reformed Church.

When I served in the OPC we always read the Law,
(following Calvin), before the prayer of confession. We had a pattern where we used these or
similar readings on alternative weeks, the other weeks we used a series of
readings on individual commandments based on the Heidelberg and Shorter
catechisms. You can of course adjust to your preferred Bible translation.

Thus the pattern was that every second week we were
confronted by the whole Law, in the following week there was a sharpened focus
on one particular commandment. Nothing
like reading and responding to the Word to make us aware of the sinfulness of
sin!

Responsive Readings of the Law (1981)

(1) Words of Jesus from the Gospels

Leader: You shall have no other gods before me.People: It is written: "Worship the Lord your God, and serve him
only."Leader: You shall not make for yourself an idol.People: God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in
truth.
Leader: You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.People: "Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's
throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool. . . . Let your 'Yes' be
'Yes', and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one."Leader: Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.People: The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the
Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.Leader: Honour your father and your mother.People: For God said, "Anyone who curses his father or mother must
be put to death."Leader: You shall not murder.People: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you
may be sons of your Father in heaven.Leader: You shall not commit adultery.People: Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed
adultery with her in his heart.Leader: You shall not steal.People: For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery . . .
theft . . . . These are what make a man "unclean."Leader: You shall not give false testimony.People: For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. . . . For
by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.Leader: You shall not covet.People: Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's
life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.

(2) From the Epistles

Leader: You shall have no other gods before me.People: For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him
be the glory forever!Leader: You shall not make for yourself an idol.People: In Christ we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the
image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.Leader: You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord
will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.People: Let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-- the
fruit of lips that confess his name.Leader: Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall
labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your
God.People: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and
admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and
spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.Leader: Honour your father and your mother, so that you may live long in
the land the Lord your God is giving you.People: Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the
Lord.Leader: You shall not murder.People: Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other,
just as in Christ God forgave you.Leader: You shall not commit adultery.People: You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour
God with your body.Leader: You shall not steal.People: He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work,
doing something useful with his hands, so that he may have something to share
with those in need.Leader: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour.People: Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow
up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.Leader: You shall not covet your neighbour's house or anything that
belongs to your neighbour.People: I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

(3) From the Psalms

Leader: And God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God . . . . You shall
have no other gods before me.People: Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in
your sight.Leader: You shall not make for yourself an idol . . . . You shall not
bow down to them or worship them.People: Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord
our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock
under his care.Leader: You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.People: O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.Leader: Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.People: How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! Better is
one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere.Leader: Honour your father and your mother.People: Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord.Leader: You shall not murder.People: Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious
thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me.Leader: You shall not commit adultery.People: You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the
light of your presence.Leader: You shall not steal.People: Have mercy on me, O God . . . blot out my transgressions.Leader: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour.People: Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me through your law.Leader: You shall not covet your neighbour's house. You shall not covet
your neighbour's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or
anything that belongs to your neighbour.People: Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.
Save me from all my transgressions.Leader: The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him
in truth. He fulfils the desire of those who fear him; he hears their cry and
saves them.People: My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord. Let every creature
praise his holy name for ever and ever.

(4) As a Teacher of Sin

Leader: Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways.People: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.Leader: Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight
in his commands!People: Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find
delight.Leader: And God spoke all these words:

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of
slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in
heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow
down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God,
punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth
generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of
those who love me and keep my commandments.

You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will
not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour
and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On
it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your
manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.
For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that
is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the
Sabbath day and made it holy.

People: Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from sin. For I know my
transgressions, and my sin is always before me.Leader: Honour your father and your mother, so that you may live long in
the land the Lord your God is giving you.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour.
You shall not covet your neighbour's wife, or his manservant or maidservant,
his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.People: If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.

(5) As a Rule of Gratitude

Leader: Hear, O people of God, the law which the Lord speaks in your hearing
this day, that you may know his statutes and walk according to his ordinances.People: Teach us, O Lord, the grace of your law, and give us life by
your Word.Leader: The God who saved us in Jesus Christ gave this law, saying: I am
the Lord your God! You shall have no other gods before me.People: We will worship the Lord our God and serve only him.Leader: You shall not make yourself an image of anything to worship it.People: Living no more in bondage to earthly gods, we will worship the
Lord our God in spirit and in truth.Leader: You shall not misuse the name of the Lord.People: We will use the holy name of God with reverence, praising him in
everything we do and say.Leader: You shall observe the Sabbath by keeping it holy, for in six
days you shall labour and do all your work.People: This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in
it.Leader: The first part of the law is this great commandment:People: That we love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our
mind, and with all our strength.Leader: The second part of the Law is similar to the first: you shall
honour your father and mother, that you may live long in the land the Lord your
God is giving to you.People: As children we will be obedient to our parents in the Lord; as
parents we will correct our children and guide them in the training and
instruction of the Lord; we will respect the lawful authorities appointed by
God.Leader: You shall not murder.People: We will be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each
other, just as in Christ God forgave us.Leader: You shall not commit adultery.People: We will use our bodies in ways that are holy and honorable, and
abstain from immorality and impurity.Leader: You shall not steal.People: We will do what we can for our neighbour's good, and work
faithfully so that we may share with the poor.Leader: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.People: We will speak the truth with our neighbour in love, render
judgments that are true and make for peace, and not devise in our hearts any
evil against anyone.Leader: You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbour.People: We will be content whatever the circumstances through the
strength of Christ within us.Leader: Thus we must love our neighbour as ourselves.People: For the Lord requires of us to do justice, to love kindness, and
to walk humbly with our God. Amen!

(6) As Summarized by Christ

Leader: What is the great and first commandment?People: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind.Leader: What is the second commandment like it?People: Love your neighbour as yourself.Leader: What does this mean?People: Love is the fulfilling of the law.Leader: To what does this call us?People: To a life of faith working through love.

Wednesday, 13 January 2016

How did I miss this gem? I have never seen it listed, referred to or
quoted, but this is an outstanding contribution from the presbyterian and
reformed perspective.

Thomas McCrie, the younger,
was the elder son of his namesake, Thomas McCrie, the elder, biographer of John Knox
and Andrew Melville. McCrie was a pastor
and theological professor of the
Original Secession Church. When the majority
of this body joined the Free Church of Scotland in 1852 he became a minister of
the Free Church and served as Moderator in 1856.

McCrie, like his father, was
principally a church historian, but he
did produce one work of biblical theology, “Lectures on Christian Baptism”,
(1850). This work is a treasure!

It is pastoral. This is not a heavy theological tome for
theologians but the product of his teaching ministry at his congregation in
Edinburgh. It is written in simple,
direct language, with few footnotes. He believed that covenant baptism was at
the very heart of reformed faith and practice.
It was not a difficulty to be hidden, but a blessing to be proclaimed,
and he did so in this series of lectures given to the ordinary members of his
congregation.

It is persuasive. I have tried to keep abreast with current
reformed works on baptism and can say that McCrie stands head and shoulders
with them as a popular defence of covenant baptism. Argument after argument is presented in a
driving logic that forcefully establishes the truth. I especially appreciated his explanation of
baptism as a seal, given that there is a tendency among some Scottish
paedobaptists to teach a doctrine that verges on presumptive regeneration.

It is polemical. McCrie gently corrects the errors of those
who reject covenant baptism, the Baptists, and those who exaggerate the
sacramental efficiency of baptism, the High Anglicans who taught baptismal
regeneration. Firmly but fairly McCrie
shows the errors of these positions. (Federal
Vision theology was not around then, but the principles he enunciates, answers
their errors.) If there is such a thing as eirenical polemic then McCrie
exemplifies it.

Here is a work that can be shared
with our congregations in the knowledge that they can understand it without a
degree in theology or a mastery of biblical languages. It is available for
free:

Tuesday, 12 January 2016

Why I am no longer in the Church
of Scotland (7)

In 1995 I produced a small booklet on biblical
separation. This is the seventh extract from that booklet:

2 Corinthians 6:14 – 7:1

14 Do not be
unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with
lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has
Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?
16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of
the living God; as God said,

“I will make my
dwelling among them and walk among them,

and I will be their God,

and they shall be my people.

17 Therefore go out
from their midst,

and be separate from them, says the Lord,

and touch no unclean
thing;

then I will welcome you,

18 and I will be a
father to you,

and you shall be sons and daughters to me,

says the Lord
Almighty.”

7:1 Since
we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement
of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

The Corinthians
were in danger of entering into an association that Paul describes as an “unequal
yoke”, both by fellowshipping with pagans in their temples, and, by
implication, by fellowshipping with false apostles and teachers in the church.
The apostolic command, (not suggestion), is for a clear and identifiable
separation from such compromising associations. Denominational association with
false teachers who spread doctrinal and moral error, is an unequal yoke. If these false teachers cannot be removed by
discipline, then the believing church in Corinth is called to separate from
them.

2 Corinthians
11:13 – 15

13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful
workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even
Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his
servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end
will correspond to their deeds.

Here false
teachers are identified as servants or ministers of Satan masquerading as
apostles of righteousness. They do not openly deny Christ, but deceitfully
disguise themselves as servants of Christ. But Paul cuts through the disguise
to say they are in actual fact Satan’s servants, who stand under the certainty
of ultimate judgement. Do we really think that the apostle Paul would urge
those in Corinth to unite with such false apostles? Are we so foolish to claim
that we can work with Satan’s servants in the diversity of a broad church?

Galatians 1:8-9

As we have said
before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to
the one you received, let him be accursed.

Paul is
uncompromising in his attitude to those who preach another gospel. They are
under God’s eternal condemnation! If leaders in the church teach that there are
many ways to God, that salvation can be experienced through many religions, and
that the new birth is not necessary, are they to be accepted within
denominational fellowship and recognised as valid ministers of the church? Or, is the church not to reflect God’s
eschatological judgement in the exercise of ecclesiastical discipline and
remove such men from office and membership?

Ephesians 5:3-7,
11

But sexual immorality and all impurity or
covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let
there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of
place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this,
that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is,
an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one
deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God
comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with
them; 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose
them.

Sexual immorality
excludes the unrepentant from God’s kingdom. Such impurity should not even be
hinted at in God’s church. The open
support for and defence of sexual immorality, although forcefully argued for by
its protagonists, amounts to nothing more than “empty words”. The church is not to be “deceived” by such
false arguments, but clearly recognise that such practices are evidence of the
judgement of God and will bring down the wrath of God on those who continue in
their disobedience.

Paul clearly
says that the church is not to be in partnership with those who commend or
engage in such practices. Denominational fellowship with such false teachers is
clearly to recognise them as “partners”, in direct disobedience to the apostle’s
command. Rather, we are to “expose” them, denounce their error, and dissociate from
their fellowship.

Thursday, 7 January 2016

A Tasty
Chop

There is nothing quite as
satisfying as a tasty chop, be it lamb or pork.
In the spiritual realm I have come across an equally satisfying resource. It is a prayer guide to the psalms offered at
the Community House of Prayer, (hence CHOP.)

The Community House of Prayer is
a ministry of Dr Stanley D. Gale, who is senior minister of the Reformed
Presbyterian Church (PCA) in West Chester, Pennsylvania, where he has served
since 1988. I was unfamiliar with Dr Gale and his published books, but I
certainly was encouraged by what I have seen.

His reflective daily prayers on the
psalms follows a pattern, which he describes in his own words:

Drawing Near: What character traits of God are prominent
in the psalm? By what names or titles is God called or addressed? How is that
name or title or action especially meaningful in the context of the psalm? It
is true that psalms often do have an identifiable context, some like Psalm 51
being the exception. Yet, that lack of context helps to make them songs for all
seasons in what we face in life. Into those contexts, God speaks pastorally and
relevantly. So as you hear God called, “Sovereign Lord,” ask yourself how that
title finds special significance in what the psalmist (and you) is dealing
with. Knowing that the Bible is redemptive revelation, how is Christ present in
the psalms as its singer or its subject? Read the psalm with an ear to its
divine Author and an eye to predicament of its human author, with an intention
of response.

Reaching Out: How does the psalm inform your prayer as you
seek to reach those around you for the sake of Christ? What dimensions of the
human predicament are amplified? What issues of the heart are laid bare? What
substitutes for God are sought to bring satisfaction, salvation and strength
that could be fodder for your prayer on behalf of those you are trying to reach
with the gospel? What truths does the psalm contribute to the redemptive
landscape in holding up God’s grace and hope?

Enemy Profile: We contend for the gospel against a
spiritual enemy, protective of his kingdom and jealous for his subjects. The
kingdom of God grows at the expense of the kingdom of Satan. The assurance of
our Lord attends us that gates of hell cannot withstand the spiritual building
project of his church.

In the
classic passage on spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6, the Apostle Paul calls us
to pray for our message, our hearers and ourselves. Prayer as a weapon of
spiritual warfare for the sake of the kingdom of God is prayer aware of Satan’s
tactics and prayer against his efforts.

The
primary tactics of the devil are accusation, deception and temptation. How does
the psalm before you speak to those tactics that can direct your prayer? How is
each one answered by abiding in Christ, the stand of the spiritual warrior?

Mutual Support: How does the psalm lead you to pray for
others engaged in witness for Christ, whether they be those you have partnered
with as part of CHOP or your local church or the church worldwide? What
struggles do they face as believers? In what needs can you uphold them in
prayer? How are they targets of Satan’s efforts to disqualify them and to
discredit their message?

As an example of how this works
out in practice:

Read Psalm 2

Drawing Near

Lord God
Almighty, ruler of the kings of the earth, enthroned on high over all the
nations. Who will call you to account? Who can challenge you, saying “You are
doing wrong”? The builders of Babel erected their tower in a pitiful effort to
even reach your glory. How foolish! You are God Most High. Your name is exalted
above the heavens, exalted over the nations. How much more odious is the
thought that the nations would rebel against your Anointed, your Messiah, your
Christ! To him you have given all authority. Before him every knee shall bow.
He reigns on high for his church, against his enemies. I thank you that you
have granted me a heart of wisdom that sees your Anointed for who he is and
that bows before him in repentance. Thank you, O my God, that Jesus has subdued
me to himself, that he leads me as my Shepherd King and that he preserves and
protects me from his and my enemies.

Reaching Out

Lord
Jesus, the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, I ask for
those you have given me to bear witness of you that you would grant them a
heart of wisdom. Open their eyes to know you as the eternal Word of God,
humbled in the flesh, exalted in glory. Grant them grace to turn from idols to
serve you. May they kiss you in faith and repentance, that they might not
perish but have eternal life. Holy Spirit, draw them into the refuge of union
with Jesus Christ that they might find every blessing of salvation in him.

Enemy Profile

Holy
Father, protect me from the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the
pride of life upon which my enemy the devil plays. Forgive me my rebellion that
seeks independence of your rule. As the world woos me to its ways, may I
resist, standing firm in the faith, my will inclined to your. I ask that you
would burst the bonds of foolishness that deceive those I am seeking for Christ
into thinking they are autonomous, into thinking they have nothing to fear. The
prophets of the evil one say, “Peace and safety.” Bring these souls to rest in
the Prince of Peace.

Mutual Support

I pray
for my partners in the gospel that you help them to understand themselves as
subjects of your Anointed One, soldiers in his everlasting kingdom. Strengthen
their faith to press on amidst the ridicule of the world, confident that they
fight in victory because Jesus lives as the one who conquered sin, death and
Satan. May they truly desire that your kingdom would come and your will be
done, and may they go labour on, spend and be spent for the sake of that
kingdom.

If you wish to refresh your reading and praying of the psalms you can find the daily CHOP
prayer from the Psalms at:

About Me

With degrees in both philosophy and theology, I have lived and worked in the UK, West Africa (working in theological education) and the USA. As a Teaching Elder I served for 19 years in the Church of Scotland and 4 years in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (USA). I am a minister of the Free Church of Scotland, and a member in St Andrews Free Church, Fife.

I am married to my wonderful wife Aileen, who has supported and moulded me over 40 years of marriage - an ongoing project that may yet pay dividends, although it requires great patience on her part.